Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck posts his Rockies Mailbag every other week on Fridays during the 2006 Major League Baseball season. The next installment is slated for Sept. 15.

To drop a Major League Baseball or Rockies question into the Rockies Mailbag click here or visit DenverPost.com’s Rockies Page.

Troy – I appreciate loyalty and giving a guy a chance, but what’s the deal with Clint Hurdle and Clint Barmes? The minors are full of flashy-glove, no-bat guys. Their middle fielders are killing them at the plate.

— Dale Allen, Grand Junction

Dale – Manager Clint Hurdle’s patience with Clint Barmes reached an expiration date on Tuesday – that’s when Barmes was benched in favor of top 2005 pick Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki is intriguing because of his power potential. Barmes’ career isn’t over with the Rockies, but he has to make a huge adjustment offensively. It doesn’t matter where Barmes plays – shortstop, second base, center field – you can’t hit .230 and stay in the big leagues. The all-glove, no-hit players have gone the way of the pet rock and polyester suits.

What can you tell us about Chris Iannetta? Will the Rockies rotate him and Yorvit Torrealba next year? Also, why not wait until roster expansion in September before calling up Iannetta? Thanks.

— J.R., Englewood

J.R. – Chris Iannetta rocketed through the minor leagues, showing good all-around skills and great makeup. He was called up before September to complement the clutch-hitting Yorvit Torrealba.

Iannetta is obviously the catcher of the future. The Rockies have not had much of a track record in developing young catchers, dating to Jayhawk Owens, Ben Petrick and JD Closser. Iannetta has a more dynamic skill set than any of those players. But whether it plays out remains to be seen.

What impresses me about Iannetta is his maturity and humility. He’s bright and is soaking everything up. I see a lot of Jeff Francis in Iannetta. Francis’ intelligence led to some stubbornness early in his career, but has been a terrific asset since.

What the Rockies need from Iannetta and Torrealba next season is offensive production. Off the top of my head, a combined 20 home runs and 85 RBIs would be nice.

Are the Rockies considering a change at manager? It seems like a new voice would do the club well, as has happened in Detroit.

— Roland, Denver

Roland – Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has worked under more scrutiny and received more criticism this season than any other because of the increased expectations. He talked about the team having no glaring weaknesses in spring training, believing that the playoffs were a possibility. However, the team has gone into a chilling spiral in the second half – lowlighted by a winless road trip through New York and Milwaukee – that evacuated them from the postseason races. Fan frustration with Hurdle has grown this season – some displayed a banner Wednesday night on the club level at Coors Field that read “Hurdling to Rock Bottom” before ushers asked them to fold it up.

Despite this disappointing stretch, there has been no indication that Hurdle’s job is in jeopardy. Ownership has steadfastly said that they would give Hurdle through next season to prove himself. He will enter next spring in the final year of his contract.

What are the chances of landing a Torii Hunter or someone of that caliber as a center fielder for next season? Cory Sullivan is not the everyday answer in center.

— Jeff Wiles, Vail

Jeff – Manager Clint Hurdle and GM Dan O’Dowd have repeatedly admitted that the team needs to upgrade in center field. Sullivan is a plus defender, but remains offensively challenged because of his alarming number of strikeouts. Torii Hunter would be a terrific jolt for the lineup, though I am not sure how much he would enjoy playing the spacious center field at Coors Light Field at this point in his career. Regardless, the Rockies, barring a dramatic U-turn from ownership, will not pursue Hunter if he becomes a free agent.

They are operating on a self-imposed salary cap, and there’s no way they would pay what Hunter would want. As I have written in Sunday columns, it’s more likely they will pursue players like Coco Crisp, Eric Byrnes and Dave Roberts. They need a center fielder who can either get on base and run or hit for power.

Internally, the only option is Jeff Salazar, who is expected to get a look in September.

Why didn’t the Rockies try to trade Todd Helton instead of mortgaging the future by sending off Ryan Shealy? Helton is to clutch hitting what Alex Rodriguez is to clutch hitting.

— Shar, Denver

Shar – The idea of trading Todd Helton has become more popular among disgruntled fans. The position Helton finds himself in is no different than stars on any team – when you get paid well, you have to play well. For the Rockies to recover fully, they need Helton to reach 65 to 70 extra-base hits next season. I could envision him becoming a Brian Giles-type player – high average, lower home runs and plenty of impact hits. As for dealing Helton, the money is a major obstacle. Helton will have $90 million remaining on his contract after this year. The top free agents will be lucky to command that figure, so obviously the Rockies would have to eat around $50 million to $60 million to move Helton, and multiple club officials have told me repeatedly that they haven’t even considered trading the first baseman.

Isn’t it time to get a new hitting coach? This team needs help in its approach to timely hitting. Clint Barmes just sticks his bat out at the ball. Garrett Atkins, with anyone on first, is a double play waiting to happen. I could go on and on.

— Al Sherman, Grand Junction

Al – When a team fails repeatedly, there are consequences. You’ve see some this week with Clint Barmes getting benched. Soon, Brad Hawpe could be losing a few at-bats to Jeff Baker, and don’t be surprised if Jeff Salazar gets a chunk of at-bats in center field in favor of Cory Sullivan and Choo Freeman.

Manager Clint Hurdle admitted that it’s been a difficult season for hitting instructor Duane Espy. He said Wednesday that trust was the key in coaching players – creating confidence so they would commit to an offensive approach and stop “changing lanes.” Hurdle was asked if the players respected Espy and said, “I think some do and some don’t. I think I fall into that same category.”

Hurdle has not replaced a coach since handpicking his staff after the 2002 season. I would be surprised if that streak doesn’t end after this season.

I’m one of those seamheads who knew the young players would overcome the odds, that they wouldn’t choke under pressure. They’d grown up together and would pick one another up. Oops! Jim Edmonds in center field would sure look good right now. Did Detroit’s kids get tired of losing and finally figure it out, or did management bring in some key veterans with playoff experience?

— Doc, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Doc – There is something to be said for kids growing up together. They certainly build camaraderie, which leaves them more inclined to focus on winning than personal statistics. But as with all young players, there are transitional phases as Jeff Bagwell described to me at length during the playoffs last season. First, they are trying to prove they belong in the big leagues. Then they are trying to put up numbers so they will get paid. The final stage in development is becoming a winning player – where moving a runner over becomes just as gratifying as a meaningless home run in a loss. The Rockies have shown they have major league players, but the jury is out on which are winning players.

As for the Tigers, they went way too young way too fast in 2003 and were an embarrassment. They have since spent a fair amount of money insulating their outstanding young pitchers with productive veterans like Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones, Magglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez.

What is the record for most wins in Rockies history? What season did they do it in? Good luck, Rockies, the rest of the way.

— Luke Klingsmith, Roswell, N.M.

Luke – The Rockies’ high-water mark is 83 wins, achieved in 1996 and 1997. However, their best season was clearly 1995, their only postseason appearance. In the strike-shortened season, the Rockies won 77 games.

Troy – Time and time again, the Rockies cannot get the big hit when needed. With Andruw Jones clearing waivers and the Rockies needing a good CF that has big RBI potential, how come they did not make a play for him? I see needing to give up Ian Stewart, Choo Freeman and maybe a Triple-A pitcher, but you would get the BEST CF in the game who has a dominant bat. Also, he is only 29 years old. Is it only the money?

— Patrick Wolpert, Denver

Patrick – Money is certainly an obstacle in trading for Andruw Jones for this reason: Though he’s making a manageable $12 million next season, if you trade premium chips like Ian Stewart and one of the current top major league starters (that’s what it would take), the organization would have to immediately give him a $75 million or so contract extension for the deal to make sense. You can’t give up two integral parts for one season of Andruw Jones.

You’re right, though, the Rockies’ center-field numbers have to go up exponentially next season for the team to have a chance of contending.

Watching the Cubs-Rockies game Aug. 13, I watched with interest as Brad Hawpe made the final out (with a man in scoring position) and seemed almost lackadaisical in his approach to the at-bat and his swings. I know that Brad is known to have a fluid swing, but is there such a thing as not being aggressive enough at the plate?

— Ken Mann, Ridgecrest, Calif.

Ken – Actually, Brad Hawpe is known as just the opposite – as a player whose swing has many parts that have to move in sync to work. Alex Rios from Toronto was also like this before simplifying his swing this year. Hawpe’s swing works for him, but clearly he has struggled with runners in scoring position this season. In his case, what I have observed is a player pressing too much. The harder he tries, the worse he does. With his power, he has a high ceiling. And the Rockies believe that he will mature into a more dangerous hitter. Again, with young players – not in age, but experience – they have to prove it because it’s hard to give them the benefit of doubt afforded stars.

Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck is in his 11th season of covering the Colorado Rockies, his fifth for The Denver Post. To drop a question into his Rockies Mailbag click here or visit DenverPost.com’s Rockies Page.

Troy joined The Denver Post in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role before the 2015 season. He is a past president of the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America and has won more than 20 local and national writing awards since graduating from the University of Colorado journalism school with honors in 1993.

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